William Shakespeare Biography

Dec 27, 2006

Birthday: Around April 23, 1564
Died: April 23, 1616

The Early Years

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Shakespeare's dad was a businessman and mayor. Back in the 1500s, there was a lot of disease, like the plague, so many of Shakespeare's sibs died when they were young. Shakespeare went to grammar school but did not go to university. When William Shakespeare was 18 he married his pregnant girlfriend, Anne Hathaway (not the actress from The Devil Wears Prada of course), who was eight years older than him. William Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, was born seven months after the wedding. Shakespeare went on to have fraternal twins, Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare's son Hamnet died when he was only 11 years old.

William Shakespeare Is A Hit

William Shakespeare's first poem, Venus and Adonis, was published in 1593. William Shakespeare went on to write 154 poems and 37 plays. Although William Shakespeare gained fame from his works, he made most of his money in real estate. William Shakespeare was even part owner of the Globe Theater where many of his plays were performed. The most amazing thing about William Shakespeare is that his works are even more famous now than when he was alive. Ashton Kutcher may be hot, but do you think your great-grandchildren will still be watching Punk'd? As if.

Hollywood Loves Shakespeare

William Shakespeare has be dead for almost 400 years but that hasn't stopped him from being a major Hollywood player. Check out just a couple of movies based on Shakespeare's plays:

Romeo and Juliet, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes.
Ten Things I Hate About You (based on the Taming of The Shrew), starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.
Macbeth, starring Mel Gibson.
O (based on Othello), starring Josh Hartnett.

Did U know?

William Shakespeare invented the word assassination.
No one knows William Shakespeare's real birthday, for sure. There are records that show he was baptized on April 26, 1564 and so experts estimate that Shakespeare was born three days before that.
William Shakespeare left his wife and children and moved to London to pursue his career.

William Shakespeare Says...

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages."